Tie and fastening for railway-tracks



(No Modeli) W. A. DETWILER. TIE AND FASTENING FOR RAILWAY TRACKS.

Patented Mar. 15, 189 8.

WVILLIAM A. DETWILER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOWILLIAM F. HELWIG, OF HAMILTON, OHIO.

TIE AND FASTENING FOR RAILWAY-TRACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 600,769, dated March15, 1898. Application filed August 2, 1897. $erial No. 646,722. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. DETWILER, of Cincinnati, in the county ofHamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Tie andFastening for Railroad-Rails, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide a reliable and inexpensivemeans for fastening railroad-rails to metallic ties which shall beadapted to be easily and quickly applied, shall hold or look the railsrigidly and securely and yet be capable of removal without difficulty,and may be used again with the same facility as before.

The construction, arrangement, and operation of parts are as hereinafterdescribed, and

shown in accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a portion of my tie and a rail secured together by my improvedfastening. Fig. 2 is in part a side View and in part a longitudinalsection of a tie provided with my improved fastening. Fig. 3 is a planview. Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig.5 is a perspective View of one of the rail-clamps. Fig. 6 is aperspective View of one of the locking-wedges. Fig. 7 is a detailperspective of a portion of the tie.

The track-rails a are of the usual construction. The concave metallictie in is provided with two pairs of slots or rectangular openings 1 and2, Fig. 3, near each end, which receive the rail-clamps c and theirlocking-wedges d. There are two clamps and two wedges for securing eachrail. The tie b is provided with pendent right-angular flanges 3 (seeespecially Figs. 2 and 7) at the ends of the two adjacent openings 1 and2 which are farthest apart. These flanges 3, Fig. 7, have two openingstcwit, a dovetail opening 4in the vertical portion to receive acorresponding lug 5, Fig. 5, that projects from one end of each clamp c,and an opening 6 in the horizontal portion that receives the prongs 7 ofthe wedges d.

The lateral edgesof the openings 6 are beveled, Fig. 4, to adapt them toproperly engage the wedge-prongs 7 and are also a less distance apartthan the width of the wedge through the prongs at the point of theirengagement with the sides of the opening, so

that when the wedge is driven its prongs are forced toward each otheragainst the undercut sides of the projection or lug 5 of clamps 0, so

The clamps 0, having the lug 5 at one end, as

before stated, are cut away at the other or inner end upon a downwardincline to form a jaw 8, adapted to engage a flange of the rail andprovided with horizontal notches or open slots 9, Fig. 5, at the base ofsuch jaw,-the portions below said slots forming claws that engage theedge of the tie at the inner ends of the openings 1 and 2, as shown inFig. 2.

The wedges d are made of flexible metalsay soft steel or cast malleableiron. Their prongs 7 are normally parallel on their inner sides, whiletheir outer sides are tapered or inclined downward to the point. Theopposite face sides of the wedges are likewise tapered.

The manner of applying myimproved fastening is as follows: The ties I)having been laid on a particular section of road-bed, the

two inner clamps c are inserted in place in the inner openings 1 andtheir wedges d driven home behind them, so that said clamps are lockedfirmly in position. It will be understood that to thus insert the clampsthey are held at an inclination, so that the dovetail lugs 5 enter thedovetail opening 4 in the flanges 3, and then the body of the clampfalls into horizontal position, being supported on the horizontalportion of the flanges 3. The next operation consists in moving theclamp c horizontally toward the center of the tie to cause its notches 9to engage the metal at the inner end of the opening in the tie, as shownin Fig. 2. When the inner clamps 0 have been thus adjusted, there isspace left at their outer ends to receive the wedges d. When the latterare driven down, their flexible prongs 7 straddle the dovetail lug 5 andtheir outer beveledv or tapered sides come in contact with the beveledsides of the openings 6 in flanges 3 (see Fig. 4) and are thus forcedand bent inward, so as to clamp upon the inclined or undercut sides ofsaid lug 5, whereby the Wedges are held or locked in place. In brief,the clamps c engage both the tie b and rails a and the wedges d in turnengage the clamps and tie and hold the former locked in position. Thewedges are themselves being locked in the act of driving. WVhen theinner clamps have been thus locked as described, the rails are laid inplace and then the outer clamps and their wedges are respectivelyadjusted and driven in,which completes the operation.

Thus a firm, reliable, and cheap rail-fastening is produced and whichcan be applied with great rapidity.

The fastening may be removed with equal facility by simply withdrawingthe wedges d, which is permitted by the flexibility of their prongs 7.To this end I provide the upper portion of the wedges with a transversehole 10 to receive the point of a bar or other form of lever, asindicated by dotted lines, Fig. 2. By prizing with such lever the prongs7 yield or spread laterally, so that the wedge is drawn out withoutdifficulty, and upon straightening the prongs 7 the wedges may be usedagain.

The tie b may be made of cast metal, but I prefer to cut it from a sheetof steel of suitable thicknessand drop-forge it at one operation. Inpractice the thickness will be about three-eighths of an inch at themiddle and one-fourth inch at the ends where the rails a rest. Theangular flanges 3 will be formed of integral top portions of the tie,which when depressed leave the openings 1 and 2 for the clamps c. Theopenings 4 and 6 in said flanges 3 and lips 3 are also formed at thesame time the flanges proper, 3, are cut out of the body I) of the tie.

While the opening 4 in flanges 3 is preferably dovetail or keystoneshape, it is not necessarily so, and it may also be continuous withopening 6, if desired.

I also further suggest that the wedge d might'be made with one prong andstill serve to engage and lock with an undercut lug on the clamp.

What I claim is- 1. In a rail-fastening, the combination with a metallictie having one or more openings in its upper side, and one or morerail-clamps having at one end a jaw to engage the railflange, and clawsfor engaging the tie, and at the other end a dovetailprojection whichalso engages said tie, of a pronged wedge adapted to be driven as shown,and an attachment of the tie composed of parts which engage the prong orprongs and force them laterally inward so as to lock with the saiddovetail projection, as specified.

2. In a rail-fastenin g, the combination with the metallic tie, havingtop openings and pendent angular flanges provided with openin gs intheir vertical and horizontal portions, of rail-clamps having a jaw andclaws at one end and a dovetail projection at the other end, and a wedgeprovided with two prongs which, when the same is driven, straddle theaforesaid projection and engage the sides of the lower opening in theangular flange and are forced toward each other so to look as shown anddescribed.

The improved metallic tie for railroads which comprises a concave bodyhaving openings in the top and pendent integral, angular flanges havingin their horizontal portion an opening provided with convergent orbeveled sides as shown and described.

4. In a rail-fastenin g, the combination with a metallic tie having topopenings and pendent right-angular flanges provided with verticalopenings, of rail-clamps adapted to fit loosely in said top openings,and, when in situ, to rest and slide on the horizontal portion of saidflanges, and devices which enter the flange-openings for locking saidclamps, substantially as shown and described.

W. A. DETWILER. lVitnesses:

W. F. HELWIG, AMOS W. HART.

